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Splinters & Thorns

Today’s devotional is a quick one. While the desire of Reuben and Gad to settle OUTSIDE of the Promised Land is a curious one, what stood out to me the most from today’s reading is the final two verses. Numbers 33:55-56:

⁵⁵But if you fail to drive out the people who live in the land, those who remain will be like splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will harass you in the land where you live. ⁵⁶And I will do to you what I had planned to do to them.”

God is warning the Israelites that if they do not do what they are told, to totally set themselves apart the influences of the surrounding culture will contaminate them. The Canaanites will be like splinters and thorns. Irritants that will prevent you from ever feeling comfortable and settled. They will cause peace to elude you.

I wonder if maybe we need to hear this today. Jesus called us to be in the world, but not of the world¹. How much influence do we allow the world to have on us? We are called into the mission field of our nations, our cities, our neighbourhoods, our workplaces/schools, maybe even our homes. But in which direction is the influence flowing?

It may not seem like it, but this is a life-or-death question. Because if we do not set ourselves apart for God, but rather allow the influences of this world to rule us, change us, and conform us… then the judgement of God out of which we were asked to lead others will be visited upon us. When our hearts grow cold and far from God, He will have no choice but to turn us over to the fate we have chosen through our rejection of Him.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:58

Numbers 32-33 | 069/365

John 17:14-16 ↩︎

Submission to the Lord’s Judgement

God decides it is time to visit His judgement on the Midianites. The tribes of Israel each prepare 1000 fighting men. 12,000 in total. This is far less than the total fighting personnel available. And they easily defeat the Midianites. All 5 kings fall in the battle. A sobering reminder of what could have been in the promised land if the Israelites had trusted God as prompted by Caleb and Joshua.

But it gets interesting when the soldiers return with the women and children as prisoners, or servants, or whatever the law allowed. Moses and Eleazar were furious and told the soldiers to kill the boys and any non-virgin women. But why?

The women part is pretty simple: these were the women who tried to draw their hearts away from God. And He had already pronounced His judgement on them. They could not be spared. They played a crucial part in the idolatry of Israel.

But why the boys? Because the judgement was carried out on the Midianites. And in that culture the boys passed down the lineage. So as long as these boys lived, so too did the Midianites. They had to die for God’s judgement to be completed. On an apologetic note, it is worth mentioning that these boys could well have been very young. Under the age of accountability. If so, I think it is reasonable that God visited an earthly judgement upon them, but then received them to Himself. They might well be in Heaven and we might expect to be able to talk with them when we get there.

When event like this come up in the Bible we like to get outraged, furrow our brows and click our tongues and say (to ourselves or others)… God should have done [your idea here].

Remember that God has an eternal perspective and knows everything. In fact, He knows MORE than everything, He knows everything that would have been, had circumstances been different. He can account for any counterfactual you can imagine. The takeaway is this:

You can’t out-justice God. You can’t out-mercy God. You can’t out-love God. If you and He disagree, you are the one who is wrong.

Mar 10 | Num 30-31 | 068/365

Are Women Entitled to Anything?

Why do this trio of sisters have to go to nomadic Israel’s equivalent of the Supreme Court to get a ruling on whether or not they can have their father’s inheritance? When reading accounts like this it can be easy to wear our modern lenses and wonder what is wrong with these weird, backward, chauvinists! But the fact is that God is trying to communicate with these people in a language they understand. The idea of a “tradwife” has recently gained some favour in the popular culture. It is essentially an embracing of the “homemaker” role. This is a role that was the primary role of women for centuries. And it’s easy to see why¹; women tend to be more interested in people, and men tend to be more interested in things².

This really only started to shift as modern life was made easier through the use of appliances, amenities and inventions. The advent of the vacuum cleaner, the dishwasher, the washing machine, indoor plumbing, and even the furnace have all made housekeeping some factor more streamlined than it was even 50 or 100 years ago, never mind 6000 years ago! The public school system only started in around 1600 and even then didn’t really gain mass tracking until some time in the 1800s.³ And even the advent of things like infant formula have given mothers the ability to be away from their children in a way that simply wasn’t feasible before. Add to that the invention of the birth control pill… and legal, on-demand abortion… and suddenly women had a level of control that they had never before known.

This is the world that we all know. And have know for the last 50+ years.

None of this was true back then. Couples had very little control over reproduction, children were taught and fed at home. Laundry would have been washed on rocks in running water. And keeping the home warm and the children safe meant someone had to be there to do those things. And this naturally fell to women who tend to be more disposed to childcare and so were home anyway. Men were out farming, and ranching, and killing things to eat. And as the workers, men were also expected to be the providers in a way that we tend not to expect in today’s dual-income families.

What does this have to do with today’s passage? Men were expected to provide. Be it father, husbands, or brothers. They were to take care of their families. So daughters would be taken care of by their husbands (and the inheritances of their husband’s fathers). Since men had an explicit duty to care for the women in their lives, the inheritances were given to them. But in this case there are unmarried, brother-less daughters and an inheritance to be given.

And the men in charge don’t know what to do about this. They can’t give this inheritance to… women!? Can they? The horror!

Here we see so clearly how God is trying to bring people along with a slow, steady, progressive revelation. He’s not tearing the whole system down, just redirecting the people’s effort toward something useful. Trying to help them understand Him using a framework they understand. He really is trying to be gracious. But ultimately God rules as we would today in our modern convenience culture. Of course the women can have their father’s inheritance. It is theirs.

So when you feel like God is being unfair toward women, remember that He is trying to bring change about in a hard-hearted people who can’t even stay faithful to the God who freed them from slavery. In some cases they can’t even stay faithful for 24 hours⁴!

Numbers 27-29 | 067/365

I am not advocating for this role or position. I do not believe it is a necessary part of conservatism, nor do I believe that conservatism is the ideal socio-political position for the Christian to assume. Conservatism is only a good as what is trying to be conserved, and progressivism is only as bad as what it is trying to move toward. ↩︎
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19883140/ ↩︎
1800s in the US. It would take even longer than that in other parts of the world. https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Elementary_school ↩︎
Numbers 16:41 ↩︎

The Ultimate STD

Balaam refuses to curse Israel because the Lord is with them. All good, right? Well, Balaam is worried about them dolla-dolla bills, and they are on the line because he was unable to give the King of Moab what he was after. So he concocts a plot to draw the Israelites away from their God and — thus ‚ His protection (cf. Rev 2:14). His plan? To use the potent male libido against the Israelites. The King of Moab sent down women to seduce the Hebrew men and draw their hearts away from God.

Things get a little confusing here as the author doesn’t provide as many details as I would like to see attached to this story (unlike the census information in the following chapter, very robust and complete). So stick with me as I try to tease this out…

Some of the Israelites are engaging in ritual sexual intercourse with Moabites, Midianites, and other worshippers of Baal. This was… not great. So God tells Moses to round up the leaders who were sending their people astray. While there is some contention about what this word “leaders” means (some suggest “ringleaders”, others suggest that these are the leaders Moses appointed in Exodus 18:5 to watch over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens) but I favour the ringleader reading, only because it makes a clear differentiation between these leaders and the judges. So, Moses tells his judges (I think these are the men from Exodus 18:5) to gather up the ringleaders of this rebellion within their cohort of responsibility, kill them, and display their bodies before the people.

While that is happening, God has sent a plague to kill those who are engaging in ritual sexual intercourse and worship of the fertility god Baal. Hence the title of today’s devotional. One particularly egregious example of which is this fellow who take a Midianite girl right into his tent WHILE Moses and the leaders and discussing what needs to be done to address this situation. So Phinehas charges in and spears the guy — not like Goldberg, more like a javelin — and also the girl underneath him. They must have gotten right down to business. And with this decisive act, God was satisfied that the issue would be handled with due seriousness and decisiveness, so that he stopped the plague.

Of course, I also suspect that this was divine timing, because God’s plague had already done its work.

So what do we take from this?

I think we can see how rebellion tests leadership. How we (you, me, whoever) deal with open rebellion against the authority and responsibility God has given us will show what kind of leaders we are.

So grab your spears, people! Let’s go heresy-hunting! <- NO. DO NOT DO THAT.

But while I think the time for capital punishment has passed, we should still give rebellion its due weight. Do we stand by and allow things to occur right under our noses, or do we boldly step out and address it? Do we turn a blind eye to sin in the name of some misguided altruism, or are we willing to sacrifice a human relationship to preserve a divine one?

Satan wants to draw us away from God. It probably won’t be clear and obvious that he is doing so. Satan certainly will not be TELLING us that is his plan, but instead he is okay to play the long game and draw us away slowly. Don’t allow that to happen. Stand watch. Be on guard. Be prepared to fight. Keep your sword¹ at the ready!

Numbers 25-26 | 066/365

Sword of the Spirit, that is. ↩︎

A Fickle God?

Today’s devotional is more of an apologetic concerning one of the more confusing exchanges in the Old Testament. Balak, the King of Moab sends a contingent down to get the prophet Balaam. Apparently a well-known man among the leaders of the region, he was able to commune with the gods. One wonders what he did when dealing with gods who were NOT Yahweh. Since they do not exist and were unable to answer him in any meaningful way. I suspect he was able to give most people what they wanted, since the imaginary gods of the region wouldn’t put up much of an argument. Balaam could likely leave most of his customers feeling happy.

In this case, though, he is commissioned to speak a curse over the nation of Israel. He goes to the one true God and the reply is simple: don’t go with these men. Which is what Balaam conveys. However, Balak was not so easily dissuaded. He sent another, larger contingent of even more important people who offered Balaam even more money to come and pronounce a curse over Israel. What follows is my attempt to reconcile what seems to be a fickle God changing His mind with what we know should be a steadfast God who is immutable. We also need to consider the principle that Scripture Interprets Scripture. So we have to account for 2 Peter 2:15 & Jude 1:11 as well.

Balaam goes back to God after talking with the entourage and it seems God has changed His position, now saying, “If they come to call you, go”. But then when he does go with them, God puts an Angel is his path to block his way. We know that God doesn’t change His mind, and we know that Balaam was motivated by greed (Peter/Jude), so putting it all together, I think we get this:

Balaam is told by God to not go with them.
A great deal of money is offered so Balaam goes back to God.
God says IF they come for you, you may go.
Balaam goes to them before they can come to him.
God shows Balaam the error he has made, yet offers grace.
Balaam truthfully shares what God said, and so was denied his treasures.

The takeaway is this: if God has given you an answer, don’t go back to Him again a if He is some kind of slot machine that might provide a different outcome if you only ask again. God will let you do your thing if that’s what you really want… but is it?

Numbers 22-24 | 065/365

Bold as Love

HOOK

Brother Andrew story Pt I
- Smuggled Bibles into closed countries
- Faced with an inescapable Romanian checkpoint
- Cars being torn to pieces
- How will he escape?

BOOK

(Ruth 2:2–9a, NKJV) 2 So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. 4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered him, “The Lord bless you!” 5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 So the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered and said, “It is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house.” 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you?

PRAYER

(God help us to have boldness)

LOOK

Recap

Airdropping into Ruth, so if you are unfamiliar with the story, here’s your recap: Previously, in Ruth…

Naomi/Husband/Sons leave Bethlehem because of famine.
Husband/Sons die in Moab.
One daughter stays in Moab, the other follows Naomi back to Israel.

Verse 2–3

2 So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

There is provision for the poor, the widow, and the orphan under the Mosaic Law. The harvesters were not to harvest the edges of the field, nor were they to pick up anything that had been dropped.
Naomi was in a terrible headspace and couldn’t do anything, so Ruth took it upon herself to provide for both of them.
She “happened” to land in Boaz’ field. A member of the family of Naomi’s late husband.

Verse 4

4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered him, “The Lord bless you!”

Ruth shows up at the field the same day and Boaz stops in to inspect the work!
Boaz and the works greet each other with an acknowledgment that God guides and provides. This provides a tone for the work environment and the boss.

Verse 5

5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”

Picture it! Boaz sees Ruth from across the field as “True” by Spandau Ballet plays.
Whose young woman? (Father/Brother)
Someone should be taking care of her

Verse 6

6 So the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered and said, “It is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.

I’m sure Naomi’s re-arrival in town would have caused a buzz.
And there’s a foreigner with her!

Verse 7

7 And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house.”

“Among the sheaves” is a BOLD REQUEST
- Reaped bundles the female servants would bind
- Gathering for two
- Much more than what she asked Naomi for
- IN THE POCKET
It might surprise you to learn that among translation nerds, this it is a hotly contested passage!
- The controversy?
  - What was Ruth actually doing that morning?
- Popular translations:

(NKVJ) So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house.

(ESV) So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.

(CSV) She came and has been on her feet since early morning, except that she rested a little in the shelter.

(NET) Since she arrived she has been working hard from this morning until now–except for sitting in the resting hut a short time.

(NIV 1984) She went into the field and has worked steadily from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.

(NLT) She has been hard at work ever since, except for a few minutes’ rest in the shelter.

Continued from v3, right? “Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers”
So what’s the controversy?

Editorial Decisions

Translating is as much art as it is science.
Bad, phat, sick, ill, and wicked.
In the same way…

Two Contentious Phrases

“Continued” [HEB: aw-mad]
- appears over 500x in the OT
- This is the only time it is ever translated as “hard at work”. The vast majority of times it appears it is translated as “stand” or “stand waiting”.
So why do…
- Literal leave it ambiguous
- Thought-for-thought translate “hard work”
Because… I think…
“Rested a little” [HEB: meh-at yaw-shab]
Why would Ruth need to dwell a little in the house if she had merely been standing around all day?
- Possible: “dwell too little” OR “hardly dwell”

A Matter of Character

Must know who we are talking about to get to the bottom of this
BOAZ is wealthy, God-fearing, and of good character
RUTH is a worthy woman 3:11 -> A proverbs 31 woman
Most agree that Boaz is being generous later in vv15.

(vv15) And when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her.

This was generous because of what “Among the Sheaves” meant.
- POCKET BOLD REQUEST
Same as vv7
ILL: Les Miserables (Bishop Myriel & Jean Valjean candlesticks vs more)
No generosity, but magnanimity, grace.
Even if Boaz WAS generous, it besmirches Ruth!
ILL: Man knocks on your door and asks for food and money.
Virtuous, trustworthy, dignified, wise, respects the Lord
- No, I do not think Ruth made the BOLD request, then did it anyway
Maybe older sources will help?

Older Translations

TRANSLATED closer to the source
- Why does that matter? (Idiom and understanding)
Ruth was written between the 10th and 4th centuries BC

(Masoretic Text—Jewish Bible/Hebrew & Aramaic/7cAD) So she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.

(Vulgate—Common lang/Latin/4cAD) And she hath been in the field from morning till now, and hath not gone home for one moment.

(Septuagint—Common language/Greek/2cBC) And she came and stood from morning till evening, and rested not a little in the field.

She did not begin working, but waited until she had permission from the only one who could give it
Preserves character of both Boaz and Ruth

(CUV) And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has stood waiting from morning until now, having no need of the house.”

Verse 8–9a

8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you?

And you see the boldness has paid off.

TOOK

(Hebrews 4:16, NKJV) Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Is that what we do?

(Matthew 6:19–23, NKJV) Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

(Average Christian Prayer) Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name, God. God, if Your kingdom could just come. And just let Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven, God. And just Give us this day our daily bread. And just forgive us our debts Lord, As we forgive our debtors. And just do not lead us into temptation, But just deliver us from the evil one, God. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Do you see the difference?
Pets begging under the table
My kids just ask because I’ve shown myself to be a faithful, generous provider
My kids only beg when they think I will say ‘no’.
Stop just this or that, if you want something, ask for it!
If you are being presumptuous or selfish, don’t be surprised if God says ‘no’.
Seeking God? Desires align
- Leadership Team Prayer alignment
How can we come, as Hebrews says, before the throne of grace with such confidence?
- As children of God. Adopted sons and daughters.

(Rom 8:14–17, NKJV) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

Brother Andrew story Pt II
- Recap
- Hands documents
- Knee in the door
- Foot over the brake
OUT OF THE POCKET BOLD REQUEST
Andrew asked to be saved from an impossible situation for the sake of the Gospel
Book of Acts prayer for boldness in the face of persecution for the sake of the Gospel
- This church grew so fast that it put a dent history!
They asked and left it in the hands of the one who could do it.
This is what Ruth did as well.
So did Moses, and David, and Daniel, and Jesus

Because prayer changes things. Because you can see farther on your knees than on your feet. Because prayer opens the floodgates of heaven and shuts up the gates to hell. Because prayer has power to cure sickness. And disease. To break addictions. To free the mind and ignite the spirit. If you feel like God is far away, know that He is as close as your next prayer! Because Prayer doesn’t need proof. Prayer needs practice.

Is your marriage under attack? Pray. Is your business failing? Pray! Has Satan got a hold of someone you love? Pray! Sad? Alone? Lost? Hopeless? Pray! Pray! Pray! Pray! Because a prayer-less Christian is a powerless Christian, and a prayer-less churches a powerless church! Prayer is not something we start and stop, it is an open-ended and ongoing conversation with a God who can split the seas. A God who can move the mountains. A God who can rain fire down from heaven. A God who uses gold for asphalt. A God who can create an unimaginable vast universe with a breath! But even He cannot answer a prayer that goes un-prayed.

So when you are faced with the trials and tribulations, when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, when you are in the sweltering heat of that fiery furnace… pray. Pray to the God who loves. The God who cares. The God who saves. The God who raises. The God who restores. Pray to the God who delivers. Put your trust in Him and watch Him make you say “WOW”! Wow. Wow.

If you need to see something change, come to the throne of the God of heaven and earth. If you need to see something change, come to the throne of the Lord of life and death. If you need to see something change, pray. Because prayer changes things. Amen!

Communion segue

As we pass out the communion elements, take this time to BOLDLY come before the throne of grace and ask God to 1) break you of the cravings of your flesh, to 2) bring your desires under submission to His, and 3) to put a longing in your heart for His will and His way. And then never stop praying. Let’s lift up His name, church!

Communion

(1 Corinthians 11:23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

Let’s share the bread together.

(1 Corinthians 11:25) In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

Let’s share the cup together.

(1 Corinthians 11:26) For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

Let’s worship the Lord together.

Outro

(John 14:12–14) 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

The Tale of the Bronze Serpent

This particular episode in Numbers is a fascinating one, I think, especially considering this incident with the snake statue is cited by Jesus himself immediately before the most famous verse in all of Scripture, John 3:16. So the question becomes: what’s with the snake idol? And why did God choose that as the thing to bring healing?

The funny thing is that the snake as a form, I think is only to remind the people of what caused this issue. The actual healing is the cool part of this. It seems at first blush like some weird voodoo magic thing. But — as I love to highlight — our God is super practical.

Turns out that when a snake bites you (depending of course on how much venom was injected) your body will try to fight off the venom by itself, but typically people will freak out, which raises their heart rate. Not good. And the temptation might also be to try and get somewhere or do something, which also would bring the heart rate up. Also not good. So what does our practical God do?

He tells the people to look upon (רָאָה) the snake. This word means to gaze upon, to consider, to ponder. This is God having the people stop, focus, slow their circulation rate and let their bodies work to heal the poison. Now it’s certainly possible that God also provided some miraculous intervention, and while I do not discount this, I also don’t think it’s necessary.

I think this is a good reminder of what an amazingly practical God we serve, and how he has designed us from the beginning with thoughtfulness, foresight, and care.

Numbers 19-21 | 064/365

Lack of Faith is Rebellion

12 scouts are sent into the promised land, all 12 agree that the land is incredible and rich in resources. But only one, Caleb of the tribe of Judah thinks they can actually take the land. When 10 of the other scouts start spreading a bad report about the trip and telling all the people of Israel that they people are giants who will crush them like grasshoppers, Joshua joins Caleb in saying that with God in their side, they can take the land.

But the people refused to be convinced. Rather than acknowledge that God delivered them OUT of the powerful nation of Egypt and can therefore deliver them INTO the smaller, less powerful land of Canaan… they leave God out of the calculus entirely!

WE can’t do it. WE are like grasshoppers. WE will die. WE. WE. WE.

It feels crazy to me after witnessing all they had in Egypt, after being led around by pillars of smoke and fire, they still don’t have faith in God to provide for them! And when God has called us into something and has asked us to trust Him and we know it, to refuse is rebellion. And rebellion is sin.

If you know God is calling you into something, even if it’s scary or unknown, do it. He won’t lead you astray. And you may just find that it will turn into the blessing of a lifetime! If you don’t, not only are you missing out on God’s best, but you are rejecting His gift and His goodness. You are in rebellion against God.

Whose will be done?

Mar 3 | Num 14-15 | 062/365

Rabble Rousers

In Numbers 11 we see a group of discontents bad-mouthing God’s provision. They wanted more than manna, they wanted meat! “If He truly loved us, He would give us what we WANT, not merely what we need!” and this sentiment spread among the people. We have very little trouble becoming self-focused. We are actually quite good at it.

If I’m being honest, I don’t really understand why they needed God to provide above what he had already given them, we know they had herds and livestock, and we know in the case of AT LEAST Peace Offerings, they ate those animals.

In either case, God decided to give the people what they wanted. I’ve heard it said that “God is a gentleman”, in that He will not force His will upon you (my Calvinist brothers and sisters would disagree, so for their sake, maybe I’ll just say it’s explained by “tension”). Essentially this means that if we do not come before God and pray, “let Your will be done”, then He will — with great sadness — give you over to the desires of Your heart and let your will be done.

Such is the case here. God sent the Israelites an exceptional amount of quail. And they caught it and ate it and they were fat and satisfied… until it made them sick. And more than that, the instigators DIED as a result of this tainted bird.

Don’t spit on God’s provision. He has giving you what you need to accomplish His will. Be satisfied with what you have and steward it well. If you do, then He will continue to trust you with more and more. But if you chose to complain about what God has done, don’t be surprised if He stops giving you gifts that you don’t appreciate anyway.

Mar 2 | Num 11-13 | 061/365

Intentional Remembrance

Today we read about silver trumpets. These were to be blown only by the priests, but they signalled several things. An assembly. A move. An attack. A Festival. A new month. A burnt offering. A peace offering. This was a way to remember God and a way to ask God to intercede. Let’s take a quick look at each one and see if we can determine why it made the list.

An assembly: The whole community should be gathered together to hear or see something.
A move: God was directing the community to relocate.
An attack: Asking God to provide protection from the attack of the enemy.
A Festival: A call to a time set apart to God as Holy.
A new month: Each New Moon was a call to make several offerings to God (Num 28:11)
A burnt offering: This was an atonement for sin. It made the person/people ‘right’ with God.
A peace offering: This was done before a meal to show commitment and unity between two or more parties before God.

The trumpets were a call to gather, to be led by God, to rely on his provision, to set time apart for God, to give sacrificially to the Lord, to admit our guilt and seek reconciliation, and to be unified as a body of believers.

How much richer we would be if we were intentionally and consistently doing these things? Set reminders if you need to — certainly the Israelites did — and make these things a priority.

Be unified as you gather, seek, rely, reserve, give, and repent.

I’ll end today’s devotional with the same prayer that Moses ended Number 6:

May the Lord bless you and protect you,
May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you,
May the Lord show you His favour and give you His peace.